‘Are you one and the same?’
‘No.’
‘Can I trust you?’
‘Always.’
‘What else have you been able to uncover?’
‘Nothing, there was nothing. None of our shadows or whispers in the wind could give us anything more. He was too clean. There was nothing left behind in the tunnels to give us any further information either,’ Geraldine answered as shame curled her features. This was a failure by her and Cain unlike any other. The flames told me she spoke true.
‘You need better shadows. If you cannot do your job, I will find someone who can. You are useless to me if you cannot identify traitors before it is too late.’ At that moment, Sienna returned with a tonic and passed it to Viv’s shaking hands. Jasper hung back beside the door. Viv slung the tonic back as though it were alcohol, expecting it to burn away the sins of her brother.
‘Sienna. Kneel.’ She walked towards me and took Geraldine’s place as I placed the blood-coated tip of the sword to her neck.
‘Did you know? Did you know he was a traitorous bastard? Did you help him? Have you yourself betrayed me?!’ I snapped, letting the overflow of anger seep out of me. I hadn’t confirmed any of what they had said for myself, but this life had let me down too many times to count and my spine prickled with the need to attack. It was the only thing that made me feel safe in this moment. Anger and vengeance—they were the emotions I felt calmest in. Not doubt and despair.
Sienna flinched at my raised voice and trembled beneath my blade. She looked at me with tears in her eyes, but they were not tears of fear; instead it was sadness I saw in them. She knew what this betrayal meant to me, what it would do to him. What Visarous had meant to me. I had trusted someone and they had used me. Lying to me for what was likely years.
‘No, no, no, never,’ she breathed, holding my gaze. The flame did not raise its head to any lies, but unable to wrap a hold of my anger, I pressed the blade deeper. Sienna gasped and cowered under me. Viv stood up in an effort to stop me.
‘Feeling guilty over something, are we, Viv?’ I asked, smirking, and pressed the blade deeper into Sienna’s neck, drawing a few extra drops of blood. I turned back to Sienna, holding hergaze, and we spoke to one another without uttering a word. Understanding laced her eyes and devastation racketed through mine. I took a few steadying breaths before pulling it away.
‘Kneel,’ I said to the room. Sienna knew she was dismissed and stood by Jasper. Viv took her place, meeting my gaze as every emotion known to man raged within her, before finally casting her eyes to the floor, shame overwhelming her. Using the tip of my sword, I raised her chin until our eyes locked once more. Fear is what I saw on her face. Whether it was fear for herself, or for her brother’s life, was yet to be determined.
‘Tell me everything. You have already spent years lying to me about your lover, Viv. Lie to me one more time, no matter how insignificant—I don’t care if it’s about something as trivial as the fucking weather. The moment the flames even hint at your deceit, I will slit your fucking throat. I will not tolerate this any longer. I have been far too easy on you. All of you. Now tell me the fucking truth before I plunge this gods-damned sword straight through your neck and make you choke on your lies,’ I seethed.
Steeling herself, Viv took a breath before the soldier within her took over. She sat up straighter and her face slackened. ‘I didn’t know. I never knew until Geraldine caught him and brought him to the dungeons. I didn’t believe it. I tried to free him from her grasp, thinking it was a misunderstanding, until I saw that unfamiliar look in his eyes. The moment he was caught, he was different. I didn’t recognise him. That’s when I knew it to be true. I spent the last two days trying to beat and beg the truth out of him. Every blow to him was a blow to myself, cutting me so deeply, but I deserved it for being so stupid.
‘How could I not see who my own brother really was? How could I come from blood that would hurt our own. No matter how much I made him bleed, he did not say a word. He only smiled through the pain. Last night he tried to kill himself by slamming his head repeatedly against the stone walls of his cell. I chained him to a chair that is bolted to the ground. My Queen,Skylar, you have to believe I did not know. I would never do what he did. My loyalty has always been to you.’ The flame remained quiet besides the rage of anger that coursed through me.
‘Will you remain loyal? What if I made you choose between me and your dear Prince Acheron? Who would you choose Viv? Would you betray me then?’ I asked. Yes, he carried out the oath but I still could not trust them—not fully. Not now. Today had shown me I could not trust anyone, and I was a fool for thinking otherwise.
‘You—it will always be you, Sky. It will break me, just like this has broken me, but I will always choose you and our people. I will never betray you. I will never leave your side,’ she said, with no hint of a doubt in her voice. She was certain and so were the flames.
Not quite believing her, a simple yet insecure question slipped from my lips before I could stop it. ‘Why?’
She chuckled as if the answer were obvious. ‘What we have runs deeper than blood. I have loved you far longer than I have loved him. You are an extension of me, and I believe in you. I believe in what you want to achieve for our people and know that you will always make the right call no matter the sacrifice. I decided long ago that if I were to be part of what needed to be sacrificed for our home, our lands and our kin. I would do it a thousand times over. I never believed in the spirits or the gods the way you or Visarous do; my faith lies with you and only you. You are my God.’
Pulling back the blade, I walked towards the door without looking back.
‘Do you still want in?’ I asked Jasper, meeting his confused stare.
His glassy eyes refocused on me and he drew his shoulders back. ‘Yes. I am more sure than ever.’
‘Good. Geraldine, send word to Morgad. An invitation to join us in peace talks at the Academy two days from now.’Everyone in the room looked panicked but I would not explain myself. ‘I want everyone from court and beyond at the arena at dawn. Make sure you’re there Jasper; you need to learn what happens to those who betray us. I want every Wiccan and Forest Fae, every shadow and whisper. Everyone. Tomorrow is a lesson none of them are soon to forget.’
Before I could step through, Viv grasped my hand. ‘I can’t do it, Sky. Please, I can’t.’ Betrayal in our lands meant their blood must, in turn, betray them; Viv was to exact punishment, as that is what our ways called for.
‘I wouldn’t let you even if you begged me. I want to make him bleed for this. He’s mine.’
Twenty-Five
The dungeons were so far below the ground that they were as cold as ice. I could see my breath in the dimly lit central room. At the center lay a stone table with chains and cuffs attached to each corner. It was where I broke those who would not talk. It was where Visarous would likely find himself.
His cell was empty except for a bucket to piss in. He was covered in dried blood, his once white hair now dark and caked in grime and blood. His lip was cut open and a purple almost black bruise trailed along his cheekbone. He sat chained to a chair bolted to the stone floor, smiling as the heavy metal cell door closed behind me.
‘Is it true?’ I asked, almost in a whisper, not ready for the truth I felt coming. Part of me held out hope that it wasn’t true.My Visarous, how could he?After every moment we shared, some small part of me believed him and his flowery words. I had trusted him or rather his feelings for me. Something I rarely did. His returning grin was all the confirmation I needed to know that the man I once knew was not sitting in this cell with me; this was a stranger.
